Improvement in inclosed tail-races of water-wheels



,l/Iliwetwt @Mina f I WILLIAM" A, COBB, or ORANGE,l MASSACHUSETTS.

` ""Lcttcrs Patent No. 104,427,idct1ed .Tune 21, 1870.

IMPRDVEMENT IN IN CLOSED TAIL-RACES `OP WATER-WHEELS.

` TheScheduIe referredl to ln these Letters Patentand making part ofthe same.

\ `13e it known that I, WILLIAM A. COBB, of `Orange, in the county oi" Franklin and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and improved Waterwheel Attachment; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description oi' the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making a part of this specification, in which the figure is a side elevation. l A

` It is wellknown that many hundred thousand dol- 1 l lars arelost almost every year, in New England alone,

which have been invested by companies or corporat1ons,lfor manufacturing purposes, in the erection or management of mills whosemotivelpower is derived from water-wheelain consequence of the stoppage of the mills by floods arising from the melting of snow, heavyrains, &c. I

` Thisiinancial loss aectsnot merely the managing capitalists, but much more the'operatives, who must be deprived of labor, and, hence, of wages, for days, and sometimes even for weeks at a time,in a single season. f l

This local stagnation of labor and business further produces wide-spread disaster. to and beyond that vastlarmy oi' individuals who are wholly or partly dependent upon the trade inthe products of-such mills, .l

to the wholesale and commission merchants, middlemen, lexporters, retail dealers, 8m. y

I ,In` manycases steam-engines are provided to snp- 4 Vply'the motive-power during the duration of ioods.

ThisMentails `great expense, and theengine and its appurtenances occupy muchnvaluable space, and require constant care throughout; the time of disuse as well as use. r

My invention hasmfor itsobject to obviatc thc` didiculty above referred to, and thereby prevent the consequent financial loss anddisaster, and this is accomplished by means which entail (in any one oase) but a tithe of the .expense attending the stoppage of a large' mill for a single day.

In carrying out my inventionI inclose a waterwheel(of any suitable construction) in a case,so that' top. D y

A conductor or pipe is connected with the case bef all the water acting on said wheel may pass in at' the low the wheel, the` office. of. which is to convey the discharge-water' lto a `point suciently remote fnom the wheel to escapethe iniluen'celof' back-water,

floods, &c.

Another, but shorter, pipe is also provided, in case there be one or more mills on the stream between that in which the wheel is located and the point where the water operating the same is discharged.

In the drawing- A is a flume.

B, a wheel resting on the flume-Hooi".

C, a casing extending from the floor to the `bed of the river, and rendering thc wheel inaccessibleto ontside water when closed.

rlwo pipes, D D', lying on the bed of the stream, open out of the casing C, the latter being provided with' gatesd df, for closing or opening'the same.

In ordinary seasons the water from the wheel is delivered to the stream through the short pipe D, and flows on to the next mill below.

When back-water takes place, owing to floods, the pipe Dis closed. by lowering the gate ll; -otherwise the water would enter the casing and stop they wheel.

On closing the gate d, thefgate d is opened, and the wheel-water finds its way through the pipe D',

. which may be 'several miles long, if necessary, and, at

`any rate, must dischargeat some point not subject to the induence of the high water of the stream whence it comes.

In this way the wheel may be run vthrough the 4 highest and mostprotracted doods, as'v well as during low water.

Having tlrusdcscribed my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Lettcrsllatcnt', is-

1. The .method of preventing the retarding influence of back o r'high water upon water-wheels,

substantially as herein described.

2. A casing for water-wheel, provided with one pipe for the deliverance of the water that drives the wheel back into the stream whence it comes, and another pipe for the deliverance of such water either into or away from such stream at a point where floods have no effect, and furnished with gates, to open or close the pipes as may be required to enable the wheel-water to flow out or prevent the stream-water from flowing in. Y

WILLIAM A. COBB.

y Witnesses I CHARLIE A. BISHOP, LESLIE MILLER. 

